Month: September 2013

I've managed to preview three (well, two and a half) features that will screen at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Here's what I thought of them: A Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine If a film makes me cry, it gets an A. This documentary about the horrific, homophobic murder of a young gay … Continue reading Mill Valley Film Festival Preview

The Latino Film Festival closes today. The Oakland Underground Film Festival continues through Sunday. The Iranian Film Festival plays through the weekend. And the biggest one of the season, the Mill Valley Film Festival, opens Thursday. B+ Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version), corner of Oxford and Center streets, download Berkeley, Friday, 8:00. Free. … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 27 – October 3

I've never seen any film version of The Great Gatsby. I've read the book, and loved it. But none of the movie adaptations earned much respect; certainly not enough for me to seek them out. Which is odd, because the book seems easy to adapt. It's short. It's almost entirely dialog and action. A screenwriter … Continue reading Who Should Have Directed Gatsby?

The Irish Film Festival runs until Saturday, but the Latino Film Festival continues through the week. And the Oakland Underground Film Festival--which I only found out about Friday morning--opens Wednesday. B+ The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Pacific Film Archive, Sunday, 5:00. Almost certainly the most low-key, matter-of-fact, and inexpensive life-of-Jesus movie ever made; and it … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 20 – 26

Quite a bit of festival activity, especially over the weekend. The San Francisco Dance Film Festival continues through Sunday, and the one-day Atheist Film Festival takes over the Roxie on Saturday. The Latino Film Festival continues through most of the month. And the Irish Film Festival starts its three-day run on Thursday. You'll find some … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 13 – 19

In the Bay Area, we have film festivals for Jews, Arabs, Irish, atheists, Asians, South Asians, Asian Americans, blacks, gays, and gay blacks. We have festivals for people who love silent movies, film noir, comedy, and horror. And we have film festivals for people who just love movies. The Mill Valley Film Festival is one … Continue reading This year’s Mill Valley Film Festival Announced Today

The Bay Area's fifth annual Atheist Film Festival plays one day--Saturday, September 14--at the Roxie. That's Yom Kippur. I'll assume it's a coincidence. I also assume that it won't hurt the box office much. I have nothing against atheism. The belief that there is no God is a perfectly reasonable one, and nothing to be … Continue reading Coming on Yom Kippur: The Atheist Film Festival